The following video clip features tracks from the new album: “Battle Cry“, “Angel In Black” and the title track “Gods of War“.

Bryan Holland says: It’s been 3 long years since you have had any new music from the power metal band Reverence. That’s a hell of a long time to go without some old school metal. So, with that being said, we are proud to give you this short sneak peek of what you can expect from Reverence‘s 2nd release ‘Gods Of War‘.

Bostok is the result of a big effort done by a group of young lovers of metal music. It all started in the little village of Castalla (Alicante) in summer of 2013 as a parallel project given the fact that most of the musicians were part of another project at that point. Influenced by bands such as Trivium, Dream Theater or In Flames, Bostok is located in the alternative metal genre, but it is not limited only to this, because the creativity and innovation are always present. Aside of working on the debut full-length, Bostok made it a priority to get as much live experience as possible. Now that the 8-track album is finalized, the band has already done their first gigs in order to promote this release.

The band has also revealed the cover artwork and track list today:

Tracklist "Land Of Fire" :
1. Damnation
2. Evil Come To Me
3. Land Of Fire
4. Bother
5. To the Death
6. Run Away
7. Stop This
8. In the Shadows

Always on the lookout for the most savage and unrelenting sounds in the metal underground, Iron Bonehead Productions is proud to present Tetragrammacide's Typhonian Wormholes: Indecipherable Anti-Structural Formulæ on 12" vinyl, now set for international release on November 9th. And now they are streaming new track "Extra-Terroristical Chaosophic Intelligence" below. Hailing from the rising Indian scene, Tetragrammacide burst forth in 2014 with the Tetragrammacidal Oration promo, laying bare the barbarity to soon follow. Now, the shadowy duo decimate all contenders and pretenders with with Typhonian Wormholes, a seven-song mushroom cloud of utter devastation 'n' doom. Literally sounding like its title, Typhonian Wormholes is an overwhelming onslaught of blown-out barbarism, in-the-red frequencies, and holocaustic atmosphere. References to their progenitors can be made - early Nyogthaeblisz, earlier Goatpenis, later Nuclearhammer, any Intolitarian - but Tetragrammacide possess a genocidal aura all their own. They do not belong to the "black metal" scene, nor do they subscribe to conventional definitions of "noise"; "war metal" is an apt appellation, but not as most understand it. Martial and yet serving the powers of chaos, Tetragrammacide have created a soundworld where there is no hope, no mercy, NO FUN: no "scenes" exist because they've been obliterated by undulating, uncompromising waves of sonic hatred. One does not simply dive into Typhonian Wormholes: Indecipherable Anti-Structural Formulæ - survival is not an option, only submission. Take the first step into submission below.

Avantgarde Music have revealed a track from "Lupercalia", the debut full-length album from atmospheric black metallers Selvans. With the album, set for release on the 19th October, the track "O Clitumne!" can be heard below.

"Lupercalia" is composed of six-tracks which last an average of 10 minutes each, and the CD version will unusually appear in A5 Digpack format, in keeping with Selvans' concept of recreating the folklore of Italy's ancient peoples by means of visuals as well as through the band's music and lyrics. As frontman Selvans Haruspex explains: "For the artwork for "Lupercalia" we chose once again to work with Diletta of E.B.A. Art. The work she did on our EP "Clangores Plenilunio" brought to life my original designs in an fantastic way, and we decided that the A5 format would be the best medium for her extraordinary art".

As well as the CD and Digital formats, "Lupercalia" will be available in a Limited Edition boxed version, strictly limited to 100 copies. The box is made of heavy wood with the Selvans' Faun fire-etched on the top and includes the A5 digibook CD, a certificate card numbered and smudged in blood by the band members themselves, a metal badge with the Selvans symbol "Sistrum" and a large (60x42 cm) full colour cover art poster.

The lineup on the album itself comprises Selvans Haruspex on keyboards, traditional instruments, vocals and programming, and Sethlans Fulguriator on guitars and bass, and was recorded at the Faunalia Studios and in Patrizio Tamborriello's Soluzioni Audio.

After the release of two demo’s, Fluisteraars made their first album called: Dromers (2014) which means ‘dreamers’. This album was very well received by the black metal underground scene, and one year later the Dutch band came up with their second album: Luwte, which means something like ‘lee’. But first..

Wow! This album simply is amazing. Everything is perfectly in it’s place. The drums, the vocals, the guitars.. every one of the four songs on this album (that runs for almost 45 minutes) is extremely well composed. There is not even one minute that bores me, they seem to continuously grab the attention of the listener, which is a rare thing. The riffs are not very difficult, but very catchy and most of all, very black metal!

Before they released this second full-length, it was already possible to listen to the song Stille Wateren, which means silent waters. It was a very good choice to already release this song, even though the other three songs are of the same level of perfection as this one. This song is the longest on the album (for over 15 minutes) and it contains every single one of the elements that make this album so amazing. The harsh black metal vocals, simple but interesting drums, cool riffs and even some acoustic parts which give a lot more depth to the album. Every time you are almost dreaming away on the atmospheric or acoustic parts, Fluisteraars will gain your full attention by throwing a raw, up-tempo part in your face. This is one of the main parts why this album is interesting for every one of the 45 minutes. They already created a masterpiece with Dromers, and in my opinion Luwte is a worthy follow up, maybe even transcending the first full-length.

So, for the likes of bands like Fen, Coldworld and Agalloch, please buy this album and support this amazing upcoming black metal band from the Netherlands!

Montreal-based five piece [Evertrapped] has teamed up with NoCleanSinging.com for the exclusive track premiere of 'Arise From The Ashes', the fifth single from the band's third album 'Under The Deep' (Hellstorm Recordz) due on October 16th to follow 2012's Anomaly and 2010's debut Tales From The Supermax

“‘Arise From The Ashes’ is a depiction of someone who has actually reached the bottom, so their rise from there so to speak. Like the king of their own universe broken by all clawing it’s back, but fueled by an ever-consuming hatred.” comments vocalist James Brookes.

Delivering relentless brutal melodic death metal since 2007, [Evertrapped] intentionally wrote their band name with enclosed brackets to signify the trappings of modern life for all of us and how people, despite their best attempts to break out of the mold are still affixed to a simple controlled existence and futility.

Members of the band bring together their collective experience from the Montreal metal scene to create their heavy brand of death metal. The guitarists Frederick Dupuis (ex-Daggerfalls) and Vincent Benoit hammer out raw guitar while drummer Eric Lemire (ex-Apocalypsys, ex-Ice Castle) pummels the drums. Their versatile frontman James Brookes (ex-Ammonia, ex-One Final Moment, Continuum) easily alternates between strong clear vocals and low bellowing screams giving listeners the illusion of more than one vocalist. John Yates (ex-AraPacis) weaves together each song with his driving bass lines to keep the punishing tracks energy at an all time high.

Lyrics are intentionally slightly abstract to lure fans to draw their own conclusions despite a perceived understanding of the tracks. Themes for the music revolve around personal turmoil and even stringing together the image of a future where the world is on the brink of an apocalypse.

The band’s influences range from death metal to melodic death primarily, along with some classic thrash and speed metal, which explains their technicality and diversity sonically. Live, the band is a whirlwind of aggression and sonically abrasive, yet sporadically melodic vocally and instrumentally.

The depraved wrath San Francisco death metal quintet, Vastum, issues on their impending Hole Below LP is made quite apparent on the first single and album opener, "Sodomitic Malevolence," as you can hear below.

Through the verbose horror of their first two LPs -- 2011's Carnal Law and 2013's Patricidal Lust -- San Francisco's Vastum sadistically carved a jagged, dripping wound into an increasingly reductive American death metal scene. One of the most lyrically unique, creative and disturbing bands in underground metal, now arising for their third full-length album, Vastum plumbs the depths of internalized agony and degradation farther than ever on Hole Below. Characterized by a deeply cavernous trudge through gut-churning heaviness, Hole Below both bluntly crushes and rigorously shreds to conceive fully formed grotesqueries of debased brutality. Here, Vastum has honed their disturbed masochism into a sound manifestly their own and true to the core of the purest, darkest death metal. Crushingly recordead at Earhammer Studios in Oakland and mastered at Audiosiege by Brad Boatright, the art for Hole Below was created by vocalist Daniel Butler. 20 Buck Spin -- also responsible for the release of the band's prior two albums -- presents Hole Below as one of the finest, best executed examples of the genre this year. The first public dispersion of the murk contained in the Hole Below comes crushing forth in the form of LP-opener, "Sodomitic Malevolence," which is now playing below.

20 Buck Spin will open the gateway to Hole Below initially on CD and digital formats on November 6th with the LP to follow in December.

Subversions of the Psyche from Scottish brutal death unit Iniquitous Savagery is out now on Grindethic Records. Order the album with extreme prejudice here..

Three years removed from the release of the Compelled by Perverse Immorality EP, Iniquitous Savagery returns with eight tracks of ultra-violent and tech-laden brutality. On their first full-length outing, Iniquitous Savagery prove themselves to be a cut above the brutal death norm by forging memorable tunes out of rapid-fire blasts, crushing grooves and guttural intensity. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jörg Uken at Soundlodge Studios, Subversions of the Psyche is easily one of the sickest UKDM albums in recent memory.

Toronto, ON based metal outfit Exes For Eyes are streaming their new video 'My Life Vs. Your Vacation ft. Lisa Sinner', which can be viewed below.

The video features clips of the bands road adventures including their epic group hug at this year's Heavy Montreal and is in support of their new album 'Tongues Like Figure Eights', which the band has challenged fans and the metal community to reach Platinum status by selling one million digital copies under #ThePlatinumProject. To date they have sold over 14,000 digital copies (with that number growing everyday).

To get your digital copy of 'Tongues Like Figure Eights', please visit the following link here and watch #THEPLATINUMPROJECT promo video below.

'Tongues Like Figure Eights' was produced by EFE guitarist Dave Sheldon to follow up 2011's debut album 'The Amsler Grid' and features eleven assaulting tracks that include guest appearances by Bjorn Strid of Soilwork, Lisa Sinner of Out of The Ruins and Dominic Cifarelli of Chronicles of Israfel\Scars On Broadway.

Pigs was founded by three raging New York City musicians known for their other musical creations with Unsane, Paradise Club, Julie Christmas, Throttlerod and others, in addition to their other countless contributions as engineers, producers, tour managers and more. Following their criminally slept upon You Ruin Everything debut LP in 2012, and subsequent Gaffe EP in 2013, the band's noxious second album, Wronger, boasts crazy rhythms that never slip into self-indulgence, and is backed by a groove and bark that are equal parts sinewy Touch & Go and the southern rock bastardizing of Surgery's first album. Wronger was produced by the band and John Fulk at Schneider's co-owned Translator Audio in Coney Island, after which it was mixed at Loho Studios by Schneider, mastered by Carl Saff and fitted with artwork by Curran and Paradise, the album delivering eleven torrid new anthems including guest vocal contributions from Made Out Of Babies and Battle Of Mice chanteuse Julie Christmas.

You don't know how right you'll feel by getting Wronger with Pigs; listen to it below.

Pigs will release Wronger through the outfit's trusted French allies Solar Flare Records on October 2nd, the label also to blame for the band's You Ruin Everything debut LP and Gaffe EP. Preorders are available in multiple formats and bundles -- the Wronger CD, 12" LP, and digital packages are available here, a CD bundle for Wronger and You Ruin Everything here, and a vinyl bundle for the Wronger 12" and Gaffe 10" here.

In support of Wronger, Pigs will embark on a massive, month-long European tour with labelmates Sofy Major -- something they've done with smoldering success previously. The melee starts on October 15th with shows in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Italy in addition to half of the tour taking place throughout France. Additional tour dates including stateside wreckage will be announced shortly.

Pigssounds like the last forty-five minutes of that interminable haul from Portland to San Francisco when both patience and air conditioning are long gone... like a petty, early-morning drunken argument in a gravel parking lot about the stupid, impossible math of how to divide forty-one dollars three ways... like when the left rear bearing on the van that's been squealing and then grinding for days finally gets hot enough to weld itself into the axle and the ancient Detroit Deathtrap grates to a final, shuddering halt. Pigs sounds like three guys who have played countless shows in many bands for a couple of decades in several dozen countries and still can't leave it alone; a scathing, groove-heavy, noise metal thunder with more hooks than a meat packing plant.

Greek hard rockers One Year Delay are streaming their new song "Headhunters." The track comes from upcoming album Deep Breath and can be streamed below.

Pavement Music will release Deep Breath, the debut album from One Year Delay, on October 2. Check out the first single "Truth, Dare, Despair" below.

On Deep Breath, O.Y.D. combine elements of metal, punk, grunge and rock 'n roll to create an enthralling Hard Rock experience. The album was co-produced with the legendary Toby Wright at Sound Emporium Studios, Nashville TN. Wright also mixed and engineered it. The album was mastered by Andrew Mendelson.

Denner / Shermann EP "Satan's Tomb" will be released on October 2nd via Metal Blade Records. The title track has been finally released and is streaming online now below.

You can pre-order your physical or digital copies of "Satan's Tomb" here.

Guitar legends Michael Denner and Hank Shermann of Mercyful Fate have given an offering of supremely, classic heavy metal infused with an overload of their signature, dark magic shredding. According to the legendary guitar duo, getting Snowy Shaw (King Diamond/Therion/Sabaton) on Drums, Marc Grabowski (Demonica) on Bass Guitar, and Sean Peck (Cage/Death Dealer) on vocals, onboard to form the band was a critical component to bringing these 4 tracks to life. Michael Denner added "Creating these songs with this line up really ignited my metal fire hotter than ever! I'm sure the fans are going to love this thing" "This mix ended up really having an old school feel to it that sounds awesome when blasting at an unhealthy volume" says Shermann.

The EP was recorded in the USA, Denmark and Sweden and was mixed by Arnold Lindberg at Sound Industry Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden. The mastering was done by Maor Applebaum in Los Angeles, California.

The Satan's Tomb cover artwork was painted by Thomas Holm whose work on Mercyful Fate's Melissa and Don't Break The Oath is well known throughout the metal world.

Abbath have announced the release of the first 7" vinyl single taken from the Norwegian legends' forthcoming debut album, which is scheduled for early 2016.

The A-side features the track "Count the Dead" and the B-side presents a cover version of the Judas Priest classic "Riding on the Wind".

"Count the Dead" will be released on the 11th of December this year and comes in two versions, which are both limited to 500 copies worldwide and exclusively available for pre-order through the Season of Mist shop already here.

Atlanta power trio Whores. have signed a worldwide deal with eOne Music with plans to release an all new LP next year. "We are over the moon to be working with eOne Music," says vocalist Christian Lembach. "They completely understand where we are coming from, and it is an honor to be under the umbrella of the biggest indie label in North America."

The yet to be titled new effort will be the follow up to the highly buzzed about LP Clean (2013), which was widely cheered by critics. Recorded by Ryan Boesch (Helmet, Tomahawk, Fu Manchu, Melvins), the record sold out within a month, prompting the band to quickly release a second pressing. Clean is now on its fourth pressing.

Formed in 2010, Atlanta, Ga. noise merchants Whores. have quickly become infamous, thanks to their crushing live shows and no-holds-barred punk rock attitude. The band signed to Brutal Panda Records in 2011 to unleash their ferocious debut, Ruiner. Recorded at The Factory in Atlanta, Ruiner. features five crushingly heavy tracks of pissed-off noise rock for fans of Helmet, Pissed Jeans, Harvey Milk and The Jesus Lizard.

Since their inception, the band has toured throughout the U.S., playing shows with Torche, Iron Reagan, Deafheaven, Floor, Retox, Kylesa, The Atlas Moth, Zozobra, Royal Thunder, Fight Amp, Lo Pan, Coliseum, Obliterations and many others.

The band has garnered much attention as one of the best new acts in the noise rock scene. Spin Magazine voted Whores. as one of the “must-see” bands at the 2014 SXSW and named Clean in the top 10 of their 20 Best Metal Albums of 2013. "We were in other bands. Now we're in this band," says the band. "Soon we will all be deaf. Commercially moribund, second wave, first class, good times, bad vibes." Listen to Clean below.

Breaking necks with their punishing riffs, incredible breakdowns backed by wrenching screams and a heavy brutal groove assault, Red Deer, AB's Leave The Living has posted their fourth lyric video 'Manifesto', which features clips from the 1965 Italian horror film Nightmare Castle. The video is in support of their debut album 'Pacifist' released this past May and available both digitally and on CD here to follow up their 2012 self titled EP.

Underground black metal label Acephale Winter Productions is proud to announce that it has now released Shadows of Ancestors by Twilight Fauna. The album contains 8 tracks and is available on compact disc or as a digital download. You can stream the album in full and order a copy direct from the label here.

For the many fans of Hades Almighty the long wait is finally over as the band is set to release a new EP, the first studio release from the band since 2001. The three-track Digi EP, titled "Pyre Era, Black!" will hit the streets on Dark Essence Records on the 23 October and serves as an introduction to a new era for the legendary Norwegian band, as well as a taste of what to expect from what will be the band's fifth full-length album which is due for release next year.

Last year it was announced that founding member and vocalist/bassist Janto was quitting the band on the best of terms, and that co-founders, guitarist Jorn (ex-Dominanz, ex-Old Funeral, ex-Immortal, ex-Amputation) and drummer Remi, would be searching for a replacement. The replacement chosen turned out to be no stranger to black metal fans when it was revealed that Ask Ty (Kampfar, Krakow) would take on vocal duties and that once again Hades Almighty would be making its mark as one of the great Norwegian black metal bands.

Originally formed in 1992 as Hades, the band changed their name to Hades Almighty in 1998 due to the pre-existence of a US band of the same name. Things on the recording front have been quiet in the fourteen years since the release of Hades Almighty's fourth full-length album, "The Pulse of Decay", but the band itself has not let the grass grow too long under their feet by being relatively active on the live scene. Nor, it would seem, have they lost any of their studio skills as "Pyre Era, Black!" amply demonstrates.

It is an EP that hints at the pitch black, epic sound that originally made Hades Almighty so unique, but with additional new elements, not least the outstanding vocals of their new frontman that give the character and depth fans have grown to expect from the band. There are some who might have wondered how Ask Ty, well known for his drumming skills, would be able to handle vocals, but this is not his first outing behind the microphone, having performed vocals both in the studio and live for Kampfar and Krakow, and "Pyre Era, Black!" demonstrates just how versatile he is.

Hades Almighty's first live appearance with the new lineup will take place in the Netherlands at the Aurora Infernalis festival in Arnhem on the 24th October, followed by an appearance at Bergen's Black Metal and Tattoo festival BlekkMetal in Bergen on the 13th November.

The album of Power Theory "Driven By Fear" is now available in the webshop of Pure Steel Records. Safe 1 Euro during the pre-order time. The official releasedate of the album is the 09th of October 2015.

French black/death metallers, Temple Of Baal, have released an advance stream of their new album, "Mysterium", exclusively on Ultimate-Guitar.com! Set to be oficially released on October 2nd via Agonia Records, "Mysterium" is available for streaming right now here.

In their over 15 years-long career, marked by four full-lengths and numerous split releases, the highly respected French coven Temple Of Baal have evolved from a primitive Black/Thrash outfit into a monstrous Black/Death Metal entity of epic dimensions. "Verses Of Fire", the last album (2013), was acclaimed worldwide as a milestone in the band's career, allowing Temple Of Baal to perform at notable festivals such as Hellfest, Motocultor, Summer Breeze, Kings Of Black Metal and Speyer Grey Mass. The formation also played selected shows in France, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, sharing the stage with the likes of Watain, Antaeus etc.

As the album's title suggests, "Mysterium" dwells on the topics of spirituality and religiosity. "From the opener, Lord Of Knowledge And Death, to the closing number, All In Your Name, every inch of this record drips with it" - comments the band. "Mysterium can be seen a collection of meditations and prayers over the mysteries of Faith, directed towards the gods of the left hand path".

Musically, Temple Of Baal's black metal roots are back in full force, allowing the atmospheres to develop through songs of epic proportions, mostly clocking around 8 or 9 minutes each. "Mysterium" covers a wide musical specter, from slower ritualistic parts, to furious blasts and thrashy riffs or the surprisingly melodic choirs of "Magna Gloria Tua" and "Hosanna", each song taking the listener into a spiritual journey, evolving through various climates, keeping the listener's mind awake. "I never got that much into monotonous, uniform albums" - says band's leader Amduscias. "I like music to take my mind from one point to another. Even if I have a strict view of what Temple Of Baal should be, stagnation is not something I'm very fond of."

The recording of "Mysterium" took place in Hybreed Studios with long-time sound engineer, Andrew Guillotin (Glorior Belli, Mourning Dawn), who managed to capture the band's trademark massive sounding, magnifying it through a warm and organic production. Cover artwork and layout have been prepared by David Fitt (Aosoth, Secrets of the Moon, Svart Crown) and Maria Yakhnenko.

Paying tribute to their old school roots, Temple Of Baal covers Bathory for the second time, with the song "The Golden Walls Of Heaven" closing the vinyl edition as a bonus track.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Today, black metal primitivists Ruach Raah stream the entirety of their debut album, Hate Fanaticism - out today via War Arts Productions. Hailing from Portugal, this mysterious trio have been brewing in the underground for the last three years, releasing a debut demo and two successive splits. With Hate Fanaticism, Ruach Raah stake their claim as an austere new horde worth worshiping. Ten hymns of mid-paced black metal hailing Satan and death are blasted forth with total and utter cruelty. Imagine Ildjarn’s primitiveness meeting Darkthrone's '93/'95 aesthetic and all done within the rawness of early Celtic Frost: proto-minimalist, extremely organic, inherently old-school, and neckbreakingly catchy. It's a sound that hypnotizes and then ravages, uncompromising and close-minded, belligerent and battering, and carrying forward the transcendental regression left behind by the late Bone Awl. Stream the album below.

Hate Fanaticism will be available on vinyl format limited to 250 copies - 150 black and 100 magenta. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

A name like this band creates the expectation of making wild and aggressive music. Can they make these expectations come true? The band is from New Jersey (USA) and is formed in 1989, fusing a template born of metal, punk, space rock and psychedelic influences. They signed their first contract in 1992 and made ten albums since then. Cobras and Fire (The Mastermind Redux) is their 11th album.

The first song is called ' She Digs That Hole' and it starts really slow. I think it's nice that they laugh at the start. It gives it something familiar. The voice of singer Dave Wyndorf is really nice to listen to. The song sounds a little like the old days. I can't really explain it, so you should just listen to the song! I think it's a big plus that Wyndorf can sing pretty clear and I can understand what he sings. The whole album is pretty calm, but maybe that is because it's American Stoner Rock. It's not metal, but you can listen for hours to it. Onto the next song! It's called 'Watch Me Fade' . It sounds really retro in the start, due to a electronic keyboard. The keyboard goes really well with the guitar. This song is also the first song where there is a little screaming. The song ends with a a lot of screaming and you are getting more and more excited for the next song. The song 'Mastermind' has an Indian tint at first and I was kinda scared it was going to be a Indian-themed song. Luckily, this band knows how to surprise their listeners. The song turns out to be a nice song that rocks! The rest of the album sounds really good too!

The album cover is a little weird. It looks like a bedroom, but I cannot find any connection to the band nor the album. I'm kinda disappointed by that.

The album is filled with ten numbers:
1) She Digs That Hole
2) Watch Me Fade
3) Mastermind
4) Hallucination Bomb
5) Gods and Punks
6) The Titan
7) When Planes Fall From The Sky
8) Ball of Confusion
9) Time Machine
10) I live Behind the Paradise Machine.

My expectations from the start didn't come out. I thought a band with a name like 'Monster Magnet' would have really wild and aggressive songs, but it isn't. But I do like the music. It's great to listen to when you are doing some work or studying.

Mephorash is a black metal band hailing from Sweden featuring members of Malign, ex Ofermod. Their new album has been just released by Odium Records and it’s divided into 4 hymns which serves as a luminescent focal point for the fourfold rite of nullification of the four primal elements. Each track of the album features additional vocals from the vocalists of Malign, Hetroertzen, Embrace of Thorns and Fides Inversa.

The tracklist is as follows:
1. Riphyon- The Tree of Assiyah Putrescent
2. Phezur- Dissolving The Sea of Yetzirah
3. Cheidolun- Breaking The Blade of Beriah
4. Berberioth- Vandalising The Throne of Atziluth

The album has been released as deluxe six panel digipack with gold foil stamped seals woven into the artwork.

The album will also be available in a die-hard edition, limited to 50 hand numbered copies on cd and vinyl that will be released together with a book written by occultist G. De Laval. The book will process and dig deep in to the concept of the negated elements with around 50 pages of pure occult magic. Die hard digi pack version will be available in November and vinyl later this year.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Very few times have I heard a band name as weird as this one. But you know what? It kind of works! What kind of name is still available, anno 2015. So, this French metalcore / noiserock / nu-metal formation released this record also named Blobfish Killer all by them selves and they stun people with noise and harsh sounds.

Album cover was designed by Toto Nawak design and the logo was designed by Chris Moyen. Guess what, the logo is a killer blobfish! I wonder what they used in advance before they came up with this name.

Critics mark this band as a metalcore band and maybe they even self proclaim the title of a metalcore band. I think this album or EP (15 minutes long) is far more diverse than metalcore is. It also has a harsh hardcore punk sound to it because it is relentless and unlike metalcore it doesn’t hold back a lot on moments where they can shine. The music itself can also be described as noise rock or noise core what ever you want to call It now a days. Especially the track ‘Erotic Palace’. The nice mixture of big, fast riffs with a lot of pinch harmonics works good for the overall sound of the band because the guitar tone is so raw Gordon Ramsey would probably scream at Blobfish Killer.

Blobfish Killer is probably not going to be your new favorite band but it sure is something you can turn on at a party and everyone will go ‘fuck yeah, what’s this music dude?’ They are absolutely not re-inventing the wheel but Blobfish Killer’s self titled album is a solid release by an underground band.

I always think American metal can on one hand be more commercial than European metal and on the other hand be like a bulldozer that has to proof it can do more than European metal. Fortunately, sometimes I am wrong.

Listening to the new album of Behold! The Monilith, I am both wrong and right. From the first notes of the introductory song Umbral Vale until the last song, Architect of the Void, the listener gets bulldozed by the intensity and heaviness of the musical structures. And that is a very positive experience. Honestly, the cover warned me: a harnessed warrior stands in desolation, ready to strike yet another lethal slash with his flaming sword. The picture is a clear statement of the music this band makes.

The band calls itself a stoner/doom metalband. Here the difference between ´European´ and ´American´ comes to the surface. Scandinavian doom is slow, deep, intense music. Behold! The Monolith makes doom a near-death experience, with intense screams, growls and pushing rhythms. I would call it hardcore meets doom, though the start of Between Oder and the Vistula sounds more like death metal. Where are the easy-going passages on the album... ? well...Nowhere. O wait. The last song, with its 14 minutes, does give us a minute or so to sit down and take it all in.

The band chooses to follow the path they started in 2012 and made an album that is more complex and harsher than its predecessor, Defender, Redeemist. 2013 marked the death of leadsinger Kevin McDade in a car accident. That might make this album darker, but hey, it´s doom, so it is supposed to be dark. Jordan Nalley takes his task as vocalist very serious indeed and sounds like he has been part of this band from its start.

All in all, this album kicks ass, for those who like dark, heavy music, with intense screaming and growling. It will hit you like an unstoppable train and after listening you would be happy to have the train riding all over you again. If you like doom in a slower way, like for example Saturnus makes it, you might think again or you’d have to broaden your horizon. You will not be disappointed.

‘Formed in 2007, Montreal based original band [Evertrapped] bring melodic death metal to a new level of brutality.’ This is the opening statement on the website of the five Canadian death metal adepts who call themselves [Evertrapped]. Quite a daring statement I’d say, because in my opinion it’s very hard if not impossible to truly combine brutality with melodicity at their fullest. It takes great skill to be able to compose songs with both qualities combined, it usually only leads to overcomplicated songs that are in no way melodic anymore and instead sound like a gruel of noise. Not exactly an easy task there. I wouldn’t be much of a reviewer if I simply took their word for it, so of course I have to hear it before I believe it. Well, what better way to find out if their claim holds true than with their fresh release, the third full-length since 2011, ‘Under the deep’, to be released in a few weeks.

Let me start by saying it will take you exactly 120 seconds to find out with what type of musical violence you’re dealing with here, 119 of which are needed to get you through the musically insignificant intro, even though it does kind of build up towards what you’re about to get engulfed in. The remaining single second is the first second of the opening song, in which the guys light a fire that they aim to let rage on for the following 50 minutes. If anything, their fire starter skills are undisputed. ‘Arise from the ashes’ burns a high speed hole in your speakers, immediately raising your adrenalin levels. There’s some brutality for you. James Brookes’ vocals range from grunts to hoarse, rasping growls, perfectly filling the musical framework provided by both guitar players (Frederick Dupuis and Vincent Benoit) and the rhythm section tandem John Yates on bass and Eric Lemire on drums. As far as I’m concerned this seems to be the perfect line up for [Evertrapped]. Regardless what part of the album you pick, they always sound like a unity, a band, rather than like a bunch of individuals playing their part separately which sadly too often is the case.

After getting your socks blown off by the opener you only get a couple of seconds of rest before ‘Underneath the deep’ unleashes its fury at full force. Again a strong yet flexible, break-ridden framework built on heavy but overall melodic riffing, thundering drums and power-enhancing bass lines. To top it off there’s a strategically placed solo and, again, perfectly suited vocals. And the same can be said about every other song on the album. They all blast on like a fully loaded freight train on the loose going downhill. [Evertrapped] has developed an extremely solid and effective recipe for their type of songs that they use throughout the entire album, with different ingredients in every single song. As a result all nine songs’ only resemblance is the band playing them, everything else is variable without getting chaotic in any way. With the relentless pace they maintain almost everywhere, it’s not surprising [Evertrapped]’s music borders on thrash regularly, more than once reminding me of bands like Kreator. This is best exemplified by the songs ‘Lethal district’, ‘Burning through vengeance’ +and not to forget the closing track ‘Embrace the end’, which is an excellent end for this album.

‘Under the deep’ is a very good album, with high levels of variety and skill, both in the compositions as well as in the MDM genre itself. It’ll take you a few spins to be able to identify what song is playing at any given moment, and that is a huge compliment. There’s so much to experience in every song, you won’t get bored with ‘Under…’ easily, if ever at all. There’s really no weaknesses on this album, apart from the intro maybe, but nevertheless I do have a favorite song: ‘Burning through vengeance’. It brings that little bit of extra on top of the already strong compositions of the other songs. The production is balanced and fitting, apparently Hellstorm Records realizes good music needs a good production.

That leaves one more issue to be resolved: Does [Evertrapped] indeed bring melodic death metal to a new level of brutality? Well, strictly speaking they do, for a melodic death metal band they have an unusual high level of brutality, but they too can not convince me there should be a genre called brutal MDM. The two key elements are simply too contradictory, but if ever a band may take credit for inventing it, it’s going to be [Evertrapped]. Judge for yourself!

Saturday, September 26, 2015

The new Huntress album, Static, is the third full-length album of the band.
The music itself is really not that bad as most reviewers say, yet there’s literally nothing what I haven’t heard before. Plus, the vocals don’t fit with the music. They sound more like a pop-punk band like Icon for Hire, yet not nearly as clean.
Jill also screams sometimes on songs, but that is just plain bad.

The lyrics of the album are mostly about self-struggles, except for ‘Four Blood Moons’.
The idea of making heavy metal with depressing lyrics would not be my idea, but if you do, please Jill, put some more emotion in your vocals!
Back to ‘Four Blood Moons’, that song is about the apocalypse, or something like that, and it is (as you might imagine) a bit out of the line. That doesn’t say anything about the song, because this song is pretty good, it has some guitar solo’s which are actually pretty cool.

‘Static’ has sometimes cool guitarwork (like in ‘Four Blood Moons’), yet it isn’t innovative or original. The riffs are simple, and change too much from heavy metal to doom metal on some songs. It doesn’t strike with the ‘heavy metal image’ of the band.

I haven’t heard any older albums, but after hearing this one, I’m sorry, I won’t listen to them. It was just boring to listen to the album. Now, I don’t say that fast, but it’s the truth.

Nonetheless, you might like this album if you’re really into female fronted emo/poppunk music and you want to try something a little bit harder.

The EP starts very strong with the title track “The Dragon And Saint George”. Heavy guitars and lots of epic guitar solos! I immediately got a good impression of what these guys are made of! The rest of the EP continues in the same way! Much thought is spent on each song and they all have a powerful and catchy chorus. Although I generally think that the latter is a good thing, it can sometimes feel a little gimmicky! But who knows, that can actually be the point!

The song "Is There Anyone With Sense" takes a critical look at our society and deals with recent issues and events. This shows that the band besides being musically gifted, is also not afraid to speak its mind about important things that are happening in the world we live in. "The Prodigal Saviour" is a song that does absolutely nothing for me and feels very cheesy. All of this was easy to forget when listening to the next song "Albion Born". This song is by far the strongest one on the EP and has a lot of positivity. It even makes me feel a bit patriotic when listening to it!

Every self-respecting rock band has ballads. In this case it is "We Can Be As One". There’s nothing bad to say about this song and it serves as a logical but interestingly chosen last song of an EP that has more strong features than it has weak ones!

Hey guys, thank you very much for doing this interview! Your new album, titled “Kingdom of the blind”, will be released in 5 days, and you will be sharing the stage with Grand Magus and Enslaved in London tomorrow. Excited to present your new stuff live for the first time?
Shoi: Thanks for taking time to talk to us. Actually that was last night, and it was fun, a little bit hectic as we didn’t have much time to set up our gear but that’s the deal when you are opening a show with two other bigger bands. Would have been great if we had the new album in hand to sell as people were asking but that’s life.

I know that Enslaved had a big influence on your music. How are you feeling to share the stage with these guys?

Shoi: It was great to good but would have been nice to hang out with them a bit more, perhaps on a tour, as we could tell we would get on really well; same kind of humour. Cato (Enslaved Drummer) was really good fun to chat with. I didn’t get to see their show as I was standing at our merch stand. You know it’s fun to meet bands that have influenced you at some point in your musical life. But in all honesty De Profundis is out there to bring our music to newer and bigger audience so playing a show like this is an opportunity to enlarge our fan base. We don’t get start struck or anything just because we happen to meet a band that we’ve liked for a long time.

You have been around since 2005 and toured extensively before, with big names such as Iron Maiden. Any great stories from the road you feel like sharing?

Shoi: As you know touring is tough but it's all the little stories that make them memorable apart from the shows. I think when you tour with bigger bands it's always cool to find out how nice some of them are. When we toured with Rotting Christ in Eastern Europe, our campervan got stopped in the middle of the night at a petrol station by some cops because we didn’t buy a vignette at the border because it was shut. The police wanted €100 which we didn’t have, luckily the tour bus with Rotting Christ was fuelling. The tour manager was asleep but Themis (Rotting Christ Drummer) was awake and asked what was wrong. I told them and he just got out €100 out of his pocket. He’d only known me 4 days!

Is there any place you are always particularly looking forward to play at? Or any wishes for upcoming concerts?

Shoi: Our tour of India in 2010 was really memorable, we played some great shows and we would love to go back there. I know the material we have now would make the fans in India go nuts.

The upcoming concert also will serve as a release party of the new album, which had very good reviews so far and personally, I loved it as well. Are you surprised by these positive acclaims?

Shoi: We’ve always been proud of our work so we’re not surprised because we believe De Profundis write great songs and delivers live as well. However we knew as we were writing this album that people would be enjoying it because we trimmed the songs down and went for more punch straight away. So yes it is pleasing to see how people are enjoying but not really a surprise.

Let’s talk a bit more about the writing process of the new record. How did you approach this album? Did you have a concept in mind?

Shoi: The writing process has always been similar I’ll bring some riffs and now Paul (Guitar) will do the same and then we all work together as band to write the song. Our vocalist Craig tends to work on the arrangement, he has a fantastic ear for hearing where a riff should be sitting and what the best structure for a song can be. We don’t set any boundaries when we write, however on this album we decided to make shorter songs generally.

“Kingdom of the blind” has many Jazz parts, which actually fit in very well. How did you come up with this?

Shoi: Introducing jazzier parts in our music has always been a De Profundis tradition. A lot of the time actually Arran (Bass player) will come up with more jazzy ideas. He came up with the chord progression in the middle section of ‘All Consuming’. On this album we’ve really worked to make sure all the more quirky elements of De Profundis’ music really blend well with the heavy parts.

What’s your view on the current Death Metal scene? Any upcoming releases you are particularly excited about?

Shoi: I am looking forward to the new Malevolent Creation album, when we toured with them last year I heard some of the demo and it sounded killer. To be honest I just like my 90’s death metal, when it was melodic, brutal and technical. I find modern death just focuses on technic and completely forgotten about melodies and hooks. Its good to see how well received our album is because its closer in mentality to the 90’s death metal scene rather than modern day death metal. So maybe the mentality is changing all for the better. Kingdom of the Blind is a great example of how you can write technical songs without forgetting that they are songs and not exercises.

You toured the UK and Spain this year. Is there any chance to see you live this or next year, apart from the upcoming London show?

Shoi: Well we were supposed to be on a month long tour with 2 big US death metal bands in November but unfortunately that got postponed. We’re trying to see if we could jump on another tour so we can capitalise on the press we’ve been getting. Otherwise I am hoping early next year we will be touring. We are also working on the follow up to Kingdom of the Blind so I expect we will hit the studio around April next year.

Thank you for doing this interview!

Thank you for checking out the new album, and taking time to talk to us!

Wow.
This brand new band hits you hard from the start with ‘headshot’ as the first song on this debut album.

The band features vocalist Billy Keeton from Skrape, Greg Tribbett and Matt McDonough from Mudvayne (plus in Tribbetts case Hellyeah) and bassist Perry Stern.

Some of the songs just stick from the first time you hear them. However, number five ‘H2o’ is nothing but the sound of water. 1.27 minutes of water. First I thought my Ipod died on me but nope, not so much. After this interlude there’s ‘Swim’. Damn, talking about making up for previous mentioned little annoyance.

‘Burn The Sky’ is the kind of song that makes you want to sing along. Great drums, great lyrics, just a great song. Same with ‘Darken The Rainbow’ where Keeton lets us hear what he can do with that amazing voice of his.

The album cover looks cute when you take a quick peek at it. Flower, dragonfly, cute colours. Don’t let this first glance fool you though. There is nothing cute about Audiotopsy. Look closer and see that the flower really is everything but a flower. Flesh eating, devouring; yes. Flower? Not so much.

Great debut album, a few songs stand out. I’d love to see the band live and am very curious about what they’ll create in the future.